Nature-nurture Debate Flashcards
1
Q
Nature-nurture Debate
Nature
A
- Nature refers to inherited influences.
- Descartes (1596) argued that all human characteristics - including some aspects of knowledge - are innate.
- Psychological characterists like intelligence are determined by biological factors (genes) just as hair and eye colour is.
2
Q
Nature-nurture Debate
Nurture
A
- Nurture refers to influences of experience and the environment.
- Empirists argued the mind is a blank slate at birth which is shaped by environment - this became an important feature of the behaviourist approach.
- There are different ‘levels of environment’ which begin prenatally such as how physical and psychological influences affect a foetus.
- Postnatally, it’s things such as the social conditions a child grows up in.
3
Q
Nature-nurture Debate
Measuring Nature and Nurture
A
- The degree of condorance between two people can be represented by a correlation coefficient.
- This condorance provides and estimate on the extent to which a trait is heriditory.
- A figure of 0.01 means genes contribute almost nothing to individual differences and 0.1 means genes are the only reason.
- The general figure of heriditibility is 0.5 for IQ across various studies in many populations.
4
Q
Nature-nurture Debate
The Interactionist Approach
A
- The nature-nurture debate aims to determine whether our behaviour is more influenced by nature or nurture.
- However, it’s not really about one or the other because a combination of the two affects behaviour.
- Even eye colour isn’t entirely determined by genes (0.8 heritable).
- A baby’s innate personality can also impact their attachments and therefore create nurture.
- Therefore, nature-nurture is really about how the two interact - an interactionist approach.
5
Q
Nature-nurture Debate
The Diathesis-stress Model
A
- The model suggests behaviour is caused by biological and environmental vulnerability which is only expressed when coupled with a trigger.
- A person who inherits a vulnerability to OCD may not develop the disorder unless combined with a psychological trigger (e.g. a traumatic experience).
6
Q
Nature-nurture Debate
Epigenetics
A
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